This is a site where I post reviews of CDs, DVDs, LPs, and concerts. I have been writing music reviews on and off since 1984. I ran a heavy metal fanzine from 1984-1988 called Metal Madness and have been a staff writer for Aural Innovations for many years. I have also contributed to Chrohinga Well (RIP), Bad Acid (RIP), Lowcut (RIP), Roadburn and a number of other zines as well. I recently moved to Portugal so please request the new address and do not send any music to Denmark anymore. Tak..

Sunday, December 30, 2012

The
San Francisco psychedelic rock band Glitter Wizard returns with their 2nd
full length record. This one is really super cool and totally blew me away. The
opening track Worship the Devil is a great number and reminds me a lot of old
Witchcraft! The beginning has this 60s style organ that throws you off but
later it takes a totally different direction including some awesome flute
playing. A very dynamic song. Blood of the Serpent starts with a more slow
heavy stoned rhythm and spacey vocal. The organ line is once again spot on and
compliments the heavy guitar riff. Motörider is a catchy uptempo rock and roll
number. Space is a long track that starts with a lot of drumming by Fancy
Cymballs before the main hypnotic guitar and vocal kicks in. The middle section
has some really spacey keyboards and flute and slowly the psychedelic guitar
creeps in as the track builds up again.

Ragdoll
starts off side B and is an uptempo rocker with a really cool keyboard line and
hard riffing guitar. The horn line makes it a bit crazy and you got love
Wendy’s vocal. The mid-section has a cool wah guitar part with some spacey
synths, organ and vocals as the track just keeps evolving and never coming back
to where it started. Spaced! Wizard Wagon is a really catchy track with some
cool lyrics (“We can all get high in my wizard wagon!”). Sunlit Wolves is a
forest acoustic blues track with flute. Big Sur is along spaced out psychedelic
monster of a track. It statts off really spacey but then the band hit a really
swinging groove as the organ leads the way and then heavy guitar and spacey
synth sweeps take us out to another universe! This is a super cool record and
one of my favourites this year..

Friday, December 21, 2012

The
Danish band, the Univerzals are back with their 2nd full length
release. The amazing artwork on this record was done by the one and only Ed
Unitsky and fits perfectly the vibe and mode of this excellent spacey
psychedelic rock record. While the material was recorded over the last ten
years it all sounds new and fresh with an excellent sound production. Nickolas
Hill, is the leader of the group and wrote all the songs and sings and plays
the guitar. He is backed by a large list of different musicians as this
material was recorded at different places with different bands over several
years. Anyway, the double lp (no CD release) starts with the really cool slow
and spacey E55 with a passionate vocals and some fantastic saxophone playing
taking the lead. I really love the powerful lyrics. Tell Me is the longest
track on the record at 14 mins and has a really spacey ending section. This is
an uptempo track with a great bass line with really excellent dynamics between
the instruments and some nice spacey synthesizers as well. This is really an
amazing track. Jealous and Envious starts side B of the LP with a drone and
then the main guitar riff kicks in. IT has a quite heavy guitar riff which Nick
counters with his melodic singing style. The break features some acoustic
guitar and then the horns come in. Marsman starts really heavy and is fast
track which really changes the dynamic. It has this sort of eastern keyboard
line and a very psychedelic vibe going on as lots of things are happening
before the main song break. Psychedelic stuff! Deal with the Past is a perfect
track to follow the very intense Marsman track. It is a sort of floating track
to start and then the guitar starts to lift up the track as it grows and grows
with this repetitive riff. IT really spaces out with some intense guitar
playing at the end. In the Middle of Nowhere, has some really cool lyrics and
and a nice vibe as Nick sings in a more laid back way. Spacetrain is a really
experimental track with lots of drones, space sounds, and things happening as
it slowly gains in intensity. then the riff kicks in. Thee is some delay on the
voice to make it a bit more spacey and when the track floats back to earth, a
beautiful sax solo. No Only Way starts with a very Eastern, like Egyptian theme
and really spacey with fantastic clarinet. The Same Difference is a more laid
back ballad and even has some female backing vocals and some serious lyrics. A
really different track and really nice. Contradictions has a fast ska like
groove and will remind people of some of the tracks on the bands first record,
Ocean of Light. That ends this 72 mins trip with the Lost Interspace Gypsies. Amazing record. Wow..

The
keyboard and drum duo of Westerbur and Rowe are back with their 2nd
limited edition release. The first one was released in 2011 in only 100 copies.
This is even more limited in only 50 numbered copies with handmade sleeves. Each
side is a long untitled instrumental track and both are really cool. Side A
starts with a cool organ that is complimented by spacey synthesizers. This goes
on for a min or so before the drums enter into the track. The layers of
keyboards are really cool as the track floats along and the mood changes but
there is always this spacey kind of drone running through even though the organ
clearly is the lead instrument. The drummer compliments the music in a cool way
and there is a keyboard that also plays a sort of bass line as well. The B-side
is quite similar but the synths are more intense and psychedelic at the
beginning and the pace is a bit faster and goes up and down. Cool 10” if you
can track it down..

The
Swedish psychedelic rock band, Qoph is back with their 3rd full
length record. The artwork is quite dark with very little information just four
dark portraits of the members of the 2 album sides and inside the gatefold. The
insert gives a bit more but to find the real LP order you have to look at the
LP labels themselves. Anyway, the opening track (Hearts and Sorrows) sounds
just like what you had hoped the new Soundgarden record would sound like but
doesn’t. A fantastic track that channels 1991 era SG. The next song Seconds and
Minutes is very short and strange and then In your Face is a brooding track
that slowly cruises along with a cool passionate vocal. Ride kicks up the
intensity again much like the first track and is like the single you can hear
on the their web site. It also features a bit of saxophone. Feverland is a bit
spooky and lead by the bass line but some strange sounds and things creep into
the song to take it away from the norm. Flip the record over and the Wierdness
to Come also has this dark feel to it and is quite heavy and has a cool double
track guitar section and organ. Freaks has a long tripped out instrumental
section that is really cool. Remedy is a cool funky catchy track with an
addictive rhythm and a great wah guitar solo. The Devil Rides Out ends the
record and is a great song and also features Karl Asp on saxophone.

Levitation
Records is a new Danish label started by Kasper from Troldmand. This is the
first release on the label and a really cool one. Stumblin’ Around opens the A
side and The vocal sounds a lot like Guf from Baby Woodrose. Cool stoned vibe. Don’t
want you has a more raw vocal and more uptempo but a similar guitar sound and
strummed style. The guitar break was good. Peace of Mind has some more intense
interplay between the guitars. Yellow Note slows things down and has some
darker lyrics and is more melancholy. The melodic lead guitar line is great on
this track. Dirty N’ Vile is driven by a cool bass line and a bit surfy feel.
Mean Machine ends the A side has a different style vocal, a bit more spoken
word like. The guitar sound and playing is quite similar on most of these songs
on the A side making it hard to really remember a stand out. They are all
pretty cool. Side B starts with the Witch. The track is more organ driven. Your
Eyes is slower and by far the longest track on the record with its repeated
guitar lines but not many solos. Every Door starts with a cool bass line and
then a guitar line used many times by lots of bands. It sounds a bit like
Dragontears but not nearly as psychedelic. Servant Chant ends the record with a
bit of a shuffle. It is a pretty cool psych record.

They remind me of some other
Danish 60’s psyche inspired bands like On Trial, Technicolor Poets, Setting
Son, The Wands but also 60’s psych references like LOVE are obvious.

These
are the latest two live CD-Rs by Electric Moon capturing the bands shows at two
different festivals and the first releases with new drummer, Michael Orloff.
The first ONE is from Zytanien Festival and features 6 jams in this set. The
opening 20½ min jam starts like most of the 2011-2012 EM jams, heavy bass and
highly effected guitar riffing before Dave heads into freakout mode and the
bass takes over the entire sound as Dave sort of disappears in the background
of the mix and then later reappears with some aggressive wah guitar attacks and
Michael keeps driving the track. Lots of super psyched out guitar. Spaced out
stuff. The 2nd track grows out of the end of the first with a very
repetitive bass line to start a bit like Robot Stomp by White Hills but then it
changes and Dave plays some more melodic guitar lines and then starts hitting
the effects pedals and back into space they go. Jam 3 starts slow spacey and
searching while Michael has a bit of a break.
Sula plays some keyboard sounds with his guitar before strapping on the
guitar and letting it rip again. I love the riff he comes up for this jam. HE
goes into total freakout mode though at the end. The next jam is pretty
hypnotic with some cool delay guitars. Jam 5 is more melodic to start with some
guitar soloing and Lulu really drives this track with the bass. The sound
balance is better as well as the bass was just too much in the first track or
two. The last track is abit more stoned and by far the shortest jam at only
7mins. If you like previous EM stuff you will dig this as well. Michael is a
very solid drummer for the band. Total time is 78mins.

TWO
is recorded at the Rocht de See Festival and Michael has settled in a bit more
and the jams are longer as there is only 4 tracks on this CD and they Dave does
not play such heavy guitar, a bit more melodic. This one starts off with some
delay bass lines that sound pretty cool and spacey. It does not take them long
before they head off into wah wah land for a 18min trip. What a cool spacey
effect he has on the guitar on one part. The 2nd jam is really
excellent and the best lead guitar stuff Dave plays on the either of the CDs,
perhaps. Not so totally freaked out and heavy, more melodic while lulu and
Michael keep the groove. Next track has some really cool delay guitar. By the
end of 2½ hrs of EM, you are pretty wiped out.. Intense, psychedelic stuff. The
last track is a killer… The band are really grooving and spacing…

The
UK band Diagonal is back with their 2nd record. We saw them play 4
years ago at the Roadburn festival and they were great. They are slow to make
their records but they are cool. The first instrumental number will remind people
a bit of Astra with its heavy layers of synthesizers and basic sound. These
Yellow Sands starts slowly with the horns taking the lead in this slow mellow
spacey build up. At 2½ mins it really takes off with the guitar leading the way
with a very melodic solo as the horns compliment the groove and spacey
keyboards. It has a very intense and complex ending. Mitochondria starts slow
and spacey with horns and piano and is quite haunting. With this song title, I
wonder if anyone in the band is a biologist like myself? At the 2min segment it
really pick up and starts with a great clarinet solo. Another very complex
track with great guitar and horn dynamics. All the members are credited with
vocals but not a peep our of anyone yet! Maybe this track? Hulk starts with
some intense drumming and then the vocals! The lead vocal is by Nicholas, the
saxophone-clarinet player. There is very little singing and they just get down
to the track at hand. Capsizing the last track, starts really spacey and
floating. The slow building bass line driving the track forward before the
drums come in and the pace picks up. The clarinet takes the first solo followed
by a trippy saxophone solo with a lot of reverb and other horns mixed in as
well. This is a very melodic track and the mood changes completely from the way
it begins. Another very cool record.

The Örebrö, Sweden
based band, Asteroid are back with a limited edition 300 copy 7” with two new
tracks that play at 33rpm. The artwork is quite simple with almost no
information on the two printed papers inserted into the clear plastic sleeve. The
A side is a track called Move a Mountain and it starts off mid-paced and pretty
bluesy with a simple guitar solo. It stays in this laid back stoney blues mode
but is mainly driven by the bass line of the song. There is a small mid-section
break the sounds like a keyboard or a 2nd guitar and then it is
gone. The ending is more of an uptempo stoner rock style. Cool track. One foot
in the Grave also has this bluesy feel like their local friends, Dead Man. The
mid section is a simple riff and bass groove that eventually a wah solo sort of
squeezes out of the end before they go back into the main theme again.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Taste the Doom is an interesting event. This is the 8th one held and the first in Denmark. It is a whisky tasting and Doom listening event. There are 7 whiskies from around the world and they have carefully selected music to go with the whisky. You get 2cl of each whisky, which is just the right amount and a new whisky about every 25mins. They only sold 15 of the 30th tickets but this is probably due to all the Christmas parties going on at this time a year in Denmark. It also said on the Mayhem web site for weeks that it was sold out, when in fact it was not. I met up with Tom and Jens and the photographer, Jacob was also there. Other than that I did not know any of the other people but I think they were all whisky enthusiasts and not into the heavy music, while we were the opposite. I think we were the only ones who knew the bands that they played.

So we started off with Greenore 8yr single grain 40%. This was a light and very smooth whisky. We heard Year of no Light- Hierophante and Deathspell Omega- III. The hosts were quite funny and gave nice introductions to the whisky and the music between each one. Next up was an American single barrel bourbon (Four Roses single barrel 50%). It had a very unique flavour and the characteristic sweetness that bourbons have but it was good. We heard a great long track by Boris called The evil one which Sobs. Next up was the my favourite whisky. I had never tasted anything like it. Amrut 46% from India. They told us the facts that India is a huge whiskey drinking country. This was really great and for that we got two tracks, YOB- Before we dreamed of Two and Fetish69- Antibody. By now, people were a bit more animated and feeling good. The Kilchoman Machir Bay 46% was you real “Scotch” whisky. Smooth, very smokey, earthy… Weedeater- Bull was a perfect choice. Fistula- Burn the Ladders closed it off. Next was a very special Laphroaig PX 48% that you can only get in airports. IT has this really special flavour and was very nice. It was changing all the time the way you responded to it so we also had three tracks this time with Weekend Nachos- Unforgivable, Thorr’s Hammer- Norge and Dopethrone-Dark Foil (Great song…..). The next one was the best of all the whisky. This was the Duthies Bruichladdich 20yr CS 52.2%. Wow. That was fantastic. For this we heard UfoMammut Aureum and Infearnatural. The last whisky was extremely powerful and evil stuff. If you held this one in your mouth for the 12 seconds you really got hit with the alcohol, the dirty of the earth, the vapours filled your head and you nearly would fall out of your chair! The music was also insane with Meth Drinker and MOSS..

IT was a really cool evening and I would for sure do it again if they bring it back to town. It was 222kr and a really fun 3hrs…

We all gathered to celebrate our friend Kaj’s 60th birthday and Gas Giant reunited for the occasion. Gas Giant also played at Kaj’s 50th birthday party 10 years ago but this was a different party this time. I arrived early (18:30) and people were still eating. It was a combination of friends and family. Only Jesper from Gas Giant was there. His brother Thomas arrived at 19 and he and Jesper got the stage ready for his acoustic performance at 20. I guess there was about 30 people and more would show up later including a lot of old friends but I missed Kaj’s friend Kim.

Thomas Valentine

Thomas played a really fantastic and really passionate set of cover songs by Bowie, Stones, Allan Olsen (Danish blues singer), Neil Young and a great version of Smokestack Lightning. This was a perfect way to start the music evening. I enjoyed it a lot. he also did a version of Working Class Hero. Warren Haynes does the best version of that song that I have ever heard.

Lars, a good friend of Kaj’s, his Mighty Blues Band were next. They are a local blues rock band and they had prepared a set of classic rock and blues for the party and they kicked it off with Tush by ZZTOP. They have keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, female vocals and a guy who plays conga and harmonica as well. A solid band. It was a cool mix of the rock and blues. Some of the songs they performed better than others and they did a cool version of Child in Time, which is not an easy one to play. I really liked their version of Catch the Rainbow as well. Good band..

IT took an hour to remove all their stuff and set up the all our gear from scratch. We did not do a soundcheck at all except Jesper to get the vocals so that he could hear himself as it was going to be fucking loud! Thomas had the bass amp turned up to 8 and Stefan was pretty loud. I was also running my synth through a marshall cabinet so it had a pretty massive sound. Stefan help to EQ it the best we could. Anyway, everyone was in a great mood and people were really anticipating the return of Gas Giant and so was I. I had not played with them since the Dragens Hule gig in 2005. Anyway, we started with Back on the Headless track and into Storm of my Enemies. I could hear I was pretty loud at times and it was annoying Stefan but I was getting mixed signals as Jesper’s brother was telling me to turn up so what can I do? Anyway, we just continued on with Holy Walker, Alien Frequency, and Clowner. The band had never played Clowner live with Tommy and not played it live since 2000, I think. What a great song it is. Green Valley was cool but Jesper was letting some of the audience sing parts and it sounded really awful. Too Stoned went down well and we really jammed it out a bit. No really intense jams or solos from Stefan on this night. Tommy really wanted to play All Creatures and we rehearsed it once so we went for it and it turned out pretty cool. They ended the main set with Mama Cool. IT was about 70mins long.

Now there was a little break and while, the 2nd Gas Giant drummer, Kjeld had to rearrange the drum kit. He was only in Gas Giant for about 6 months from late Dec 2000 and until June 2001 but has remained friends with the band. He was going to play on the three songs that Gas Giant recorded with him for the split LP with WE. We did not rehearse any of these songs so I had no idea what was going to happen. Two went well and one was a mess. Ride the Red Horse and Never leave this way were really fun to play and brought back great memories. Firetripper, no one except Kjeld and I had listened to it so Stefan had no idea what the riff was. We eventually pulled together a fucked up version but it was high energy and people had a lot of fun. That was the main point. Let’s see if the band will continue or not after this. I had a great night. Thanks to Kaj and also the Gas Giant guys… The party continued afterwards as different people played DJ and played AC/DC, Stones, Johnny Winter, and then it started to get heavy and I went home at 2:30.. Peace and Love

Friday, December 7, 2012

This
was the Mantric Muse CD release party and ØSC were nicely added to the bill so
we could reunite the early line up of ØSC. The doors opened early and it was
free entrance and the band provided a
lot of snacks and free beers on all the tables to get the party started. It was
so great to see some people I had not seen in years and many of the people who
used to come out and support the band. This was their first real concert since
2006. Some of the old Mantric Muse
members were also here. It was a great party but the band was delayed in
starting as the people who were going to do the projections bailed out and they
had to hunt down a projector and do our old school visuals with G-Force and a
laptop. The projector did not arrive until 22:30 and by the time it was up and
running it was nearly 23 so a quite late start. Mantric Muse played the entire
new LP in order except they stuck an older song, Mystsic Union (in quite a new
version) before Deep Sea Cheops. The new synthesizer player Ola (Bland Bladen,
ØSC, Derango, Hofoot etc..) it was his first gig ever playing Mantric Muse
songs and he is exactly the person they have needed all these years. The band
sounded fantastic and also tagged some jams into the ends of several of the
songs. The place was pretty filled up and people really dug the show. They had
only one more song to play called Arm. The set was about 105mins.

After
about 35mins, ØSC was ready to fly with all the Mantric Muse guys on board plus
Ola and Sebastian (both from Bland Bladen) and myself. This was the original
line up that played the first OSC shows here in Dragens Hule back in 2005 and
also recorded the first two records. Mogens would join in here and there on the
Fender Rhodes as well. We played about an hour long set and then we changed the
more recent ØSC line up with Jiri on Bass, Birk on drums, Nick on the guitar.
Ola and I stayed on. We have two long jams and then PIB, who also has not
played drums with us in nearly 2 years joined at the end. What a night but it
was after 4 in the morning when Sebastian and I packed our stuff up and headed
out. The rest actually kept on jamming until like 5:30 in the morning I was
told. Far out.. A fantastic night and Mantric Muse is back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

About Me

I am a research scientist doing Diabetes research and I do music journalism on the side and have been writing about music for 28 years now. I also lead an all improvised psychedelic space rock band called the Øresund Space Collective. I also am an avid collector of music.